prowrestlingfandomcom-20200223-history
Aksana
|birth_place = Lithuania |death_date = |death_place = |resides = Tampa, Florida |billed = Alytus, Lithuania |trainer = Florida Championship Wrestling |retired = 2014 |debut = October 29, 2009 }} Živilė Raudonienė (April 29, 1982) is a Lithuanian fitness model, bodybuilder and former professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she performed under the ring name Aksana. Raudonienė began her career as a bodybuilder at the age of 16, where she began her training. At the age of 17, she was the youngest participant in the 1999 IFBB Arnold Classic Contest. During her time as a bodybuilder, she won three medals in Bodybuilding Amateur World Championships (2 silver, 1 bronze). Raudonienė signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment, and was assigned to Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW), WWE's developmental territory. She became the Queen of FCW and won the FCW Divas Championship, and also became the first wrestler in history to hold both titles simultaneously. Professional wrestling career World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE Florida Championship Wrestling (2009–2012) On October 5, 2009, it was reported that WWE had signed Raudonienė to a developmental contract with WWE and was training at Florida Championship Wrestling their developmental facility in Florida. Raudonienė made her FCW debut under the ring name "Olga" at a FCW house show in a Divas Halloween Costume contest on October 29, 2009. The following month, her ring name was changed to Aksana, and she began to manage Eli Cottonwood. She was also involved in a storyline where she was kidnapped by Sweet Papi Sanchez. Aksana made her in ring debut at an FCW house show on January 15, 2010 when she teamed with AJ Lee, Savannah, and Eve Torres to defeat Serena Mancini, Naomi Night, Courtney Taylor, and Liviana. She began appearing on The Abraham Washington Show, Abraham Washington's in-ring talk show segment, where she acted as his sidekick. She continued to wrestle as well, appearing in several multi-Diva tag team matches. On April 15, 2010 Aksana teamed with Hunico and Tito Nieves in a mixed tag team match, defeating The Usos and Tamina. When it was announced that there would be a creation of the FCW Divas Championship, Aksana competed in a tournament to determine the inaugural champion, only to be defeated in the first round by Serena at the April 29, 2010 television tapings. She also briefly managed Johnny Curtis in the months of April and May. In July, Aksana competed in several bikini contests against the other FCW Divas, winning one on July 8, 2011. The following month, she began hosting The Aksana Show, a spin-off of The Abraham Washington Show, having guests including Mason Ryan, FCW Florida Tag Team Champions Johnny Curtis and Derrick Bateman, Maxine, Rosa Mendes and FCW Divas Champion Naomi Knight. At the February 3, 2011 television tapings, Aksana defeated Rosa Mendes to become the new Queen of FCW. Aksana later joined the new villainous group formed by FCW General Manager Maxine with FCW Florida Heavyweight Champion Lucky Cannon, FCW Divas Champion AJ, and Damien Sandow. At the April 7, 2011 television tapings, Aksana defeated AJ to win the FCW Divas Championship for the first time after interference from Maxine. Her victory made her the first Diva to hold the Queen of FCW title and FCW Divas Championship simultaneously. On September 1, 2011 television tapings, Aksana lost the FCW Divas Championship to Audrey Marie. ''NXT'' (2010) On August 31, 2010 it was announced that Raudonienė would be part of the third season of NXT, under the ring name of Aksana, with Goldust as her storyline mentor. She appeared on the first episode of the season on September 7, 2010 where she teamed with Goldust in a loss to A.J. and Primo in a mixed tag team match. The following week, she lost to Jamie Keyes in a singles match. On the September 21, 2010 episode of NXT, Aksana began a storyline where she was having problems with her visa and was facing deportation from the United States. On the October 5, 2010 episode of NXT, Aksana won a challenge for the first time by winning the mechanical bull riding contest, before defeating Maxine in a match. The following week, Goldust proposed marriage to Aksana so she could stay in the United States, which she accepted. On the November 2, 2010 edition of NXT, Goldust and Aksana's wedding took place. As Goldust was about to plant a kiss on his new wife, Aksana slapped him and walked off, turning heel in the process. The following Monday on Raw, Aksana stole Goldust's Million Dollar Championship, which he had stolen from Ted DiBiase. The next night on NXT, Goldust confronted his wife about their wedding. Aksana, now holding the Million Dollar Championship, revealed to Goldust that she never loved him, and only married him to stay in the country as if she returned to Lithuania she'd be beaten with shovels. Goldust responded by putting Aksana in a match with Naomi, in which she lost. The following week on Raw, Goldust took back the Million Dollar Championship from Aksana with help from Kelly Kelly and Dusty Rhodes, and gave it back to Ted DiBiase, Sr. The next night on the November 16, 2010 episode of NXT, Aksana was eliminated from the competition. She returned on the season finale on November 30, 2010 where she teamed with Alicia Fox and Maxine in a loss to A.J. and The Bella Twins. SmackDown; Storyline with Teddy Long (2011–2012) Aksana made her official WWE debut on August 5, as a member of the SmackDown roster, as a face, where she introduced herself to General Manager Theodore Long in a backstage segment and continuing on backstage segments with Long for over the course of months. On the August 22, edition of Raw, Aksana appeared backstage with several other Superstars and Divas congratulating Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne (now known as "Air Boom") on winning the WWE Tag Team Championship. Four days later on SmackDown, Aksana had another backstage segment, where she invited the WWE Universe to "turn her on" to SmackDown, continuing the sexual innuendos of the previous weeks. On the August 30 edition of SmackDown, Aksana served as the guest ring announcer for a Divas tag team match between The Divas of Doom (Beth Phoenix and Natalya) and Alicia Fox and Kelly Kelly. On the September 23, edition of SmackDown, Aksana appeared alongside the entire SmackDown roster during the opening segment involving John Laurinaitis, Mark Henry, Triple H, and Christian. On the October 3, edition of Raw, Aksana, along with most of the WWE roster, gave Triple H a vote of no confidence in his role as Chief Operating Officer of the WWE, and walked out of the show. The following edition of Raw, in a WWE.com Exlcusive, Aksana was seen with the rest of the fifty-five disgruntled WWE employees in a solidarity rally before Raw aired. On the October 28, edition of SmackDown, Aksana appeared backstage with Theodore Long for the first time in over a month, this time interrupting his conversation with Hornswoggle. On the October 31, edition of Raw, Aksana competed in her first match on the main roster, which was a Divas Halloween Costume battle royal match to become the number one contender for the WWE Divas Championship at the 2011 Survivor Series pay-per-view. However, she was unsuccessful in becoming the number one contender after being eliminated by The Bella Twins. At the Survivor Series pay-per-view, Aksana participated as one of the lumberjills in the WWE Divas Championship match between Beth Phoenix and Eve Torres. At the conclusion of the 2011 Tribute to the Troops special, Aksana joined the rest of the WWE roster in greeting the fans in attendance. On the December 28, edition of NXT Redemption, Aksana appeared in a backstage segment with Maxine. Aksana showed Maxine a text supposedly sent by Derrick Bateman to Theodore Long's phone, which read that he while he couldn't wait to become a SmackDown superstar, he wanted Maxine to stay on NXT. When Maxine asked Aksana if Johnny Curtis put her up to it, Aksana replied that she was only trying to help. On the January 27, 2012 edition of SmackDown!, Aksana made her in-ring debut defeating Natalya. After the match, Natalya attacked Aksana, but Tamina saved her. The following week, Aksana made her tag team debut as she teamed up with Tamina in a losing effort against The Divas of Doom. Relationship with Antonio Cesaro (2012) In April, newcomer Antonio Cesaro debuted on SmackDown and Aksana introduced him to Theodore Long, who was forced to act like a Queen's guard and therefore could not say a word. On the following edition of Smackdown, Aksana turned into a villainess and kissed Cesaro in front of Teddy Long, effectively ending their relationship. On the May 11 edition of SmackDown, Aksana debuted a new look. Later in the night, after Cesaro defeated Alex Riley, Aksana officially told Theodore Long that their relationship is through, cementing her heel turn. She then passionately kissed Cesaro, leaving Long in tears. On the June 29 episode of SmackDown!, Long announced that he would be the General Manager for both SmackDown and Raw the next week, then pitted Aksana and Cesaro in a mixed tag team match against The Great Khali and the Divas Champion Layla, which they lost. On the July 17 episode of SmackDown!, Aksana teamed up with Antonio Cesaro in a losing effort to Layla and Santino Marella in a dark match. On the July 27 episode of SmackDown, Aksana accompanied Cesaro to the ring where he defeated United States Champion Santino Marella in a non-title match. On the August 20 episode of Raw, Aksana competed in the #1 Contender's Battle Royal to determine the #1 contender for WWE Divas Championship whom would face Layla for Divas Championship at Night of Champions but was unsuccessful after being eliminated by Rosa Mendes. On the 3rd September episode of Raw, Aksana accompanied Cesaro for his first title defense where the latter successfully defended his title. Alliance with Eve (2012–2013) On the September 21st edition of SmackDown, Cesaro ended his relationship with Aksana in 5 different languages after she inadvertently cost him his non-title match against Santino Marella. Aksana was then referenced on the October 12 edition of SmackDown as Layla and Kaitlyn revealed that Aksana found a blonde wig in the bag belonging to Eve Torres, implementing Eve's involvement in an attack on Kaitlyn at Night of Champions. On the October 26 episode of SmackDown, Aksana was revealed as the villainess who attacked Kaitlyn at Night of Champions and that Eve sent her a text message to do so, later that night Aksana teamed up with Eve to defeat Layla and Kaitlyn after Layla's interference backfired. On the November 5 episode of Raw, Aksana teamed up with Eve in a losing effort to Layla and Kaitlyn after Kaitlyn pinned Eve; this also where she added a new antic to her gimmick: crawling in the ring. On the November 14 episode of NXT, Aksana was defeated by Layla. On the November 16 episode of SmackDown, Aksana competed in a 6 diva tag team match along with Eve and Alicia Fox in a losing effort against Kaitlyn, Layla, and Natalya with Kaitlyn pinning Fox. At Survivor Series, the evil Aksana attacked Kaitlyn backstage in a blonde wig leading to Eve retaining the Divas Championship. On the November 19 episode of RAW, Kaitlyn would get revenge on Aksana by defeating her in singles competition. On Backstage Fallout ''the next day, Aksana explained that she attacked Kaitlyn because she was doing what she had to do to get ahead. On the December 14 episode of ''SmackDown!, Aksana competed against Kaitlyn in a losing effort. During the pre-show of the TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs pay-per-view on December 16, Aksana participated in her first WWE pay-per-view match competing in the "Santa's Little Helpers" battle royal which was won by Naomi. On the December 24 episode of Raw Christmas edition, Aksana competed in a "Santa's Little Helper" eight-divas tag team match with Eve, Rosa Mendes, and Tamina Snuka in a losing effort against Layla, Natalya, Alicia Fox and Kaitlyn after Kaitlyn pinned Eve. After Eve would lose her title to Kaitlyn on the "20th Anniversary episode of Raw, Eve would then quit the WWE, thus ending the alliance between the two. Various alliances and feuds (2013-2014) On the January 18 episode of SmackDown, Aksana was defeated by her rival and new Divas Champion Kaitlyn in a non-title match. On the February 6 episode of Main Event, Aksana would began an aligning herself with Tamina Snuka against the Funkadactyls (Naomi and Cameron) in a losing effort after Naomi pinned Aksana. On the February 22 episode of SmackDown, Aksana continued to feud with Kaitlyn in a divas tag team match alongside Tamina Snuka against Kaitlyn and Layla in a losing effort with Kaitlyn pinning Snuka. Aksana would then compete in a rematch with Tamina Snuka against Kaitlyn and Layla, but would again be on the losing side being pinned by Layla. On the May 17 episode of SmackDown!, Aksana was defeated by Kaitlyn in a non-title match. When WWE rebranded its developmental territory, FCW, into NXT Wrestling, Aksana competed in the NXT Women's Championship tournament to crown the inaugural champion and lost to Emma in the first round on the June 26 edition of NXT. On the September 6th edition of Smackdown, Aksana, Alicia Fox, Layla and Divas Champion A.J. Lee attacked Naomi, Brie Bella, Cameron and Nikki Bella during Naomi and Brie Bella's match. At Survivor Series on November 24, Aksana took part in a 7-on-7 traditional elimination tag team match; eliminating Brie Bella before she was eliminated herself by Brie's sister, Nikki Bella. On the December 30 episode of Raw, Aksana picked up the win for her team in a ten-divas tag team match when she pinned Nikki Bella. On the January 3, 2014 episode of SmackDown, however, she was defeated by Nikki in slngles action. At Old School Raw on January 6, Aksana and Alicia Fox defeated the Bellas in tag team action when Aksana got the winning pin on Brie. On the February 19 edition of Main Event, Aksana (with Alicia Fox in her corner) was defeated by Cameron. On the February 26 episode of Main Event, Foxsana defeated Eva Marie and Natalya when Aksana pinned Natalya after an miscommunication between Marie and Natalya. Aksana failed to capture the Divas Championship in the "Vickie Guerrero Divas Championship Invitational" match at Wrestlemania XXX, which was ultimately won by AJ Lee. On the April 18th edition of SmackDown, Aksana lost to the new Divas Champion Paige and did so again on April 20 of Raw. On the May 6th edition of Main Event, Aksana teamed with Alicia Fox and Tamina Snuka in a losing affect to The Funkadactyls and Natalya when Naomi pinned Aksana. Two weeks later, Aksana faced Naomi in a losing effort. On the June 2nd edition of Raw. Foxsana faced Nikki Bella in a handicap match in a winning effort when Fox pinned Nikki, She was released from the WWE on June 12, 2014. Her last match was on the June 13th edition of Smackdown, where she faced Alicia Fox in a losing effort. Personal life Raudonienė was born in Alytus, Lithuania and raised in a small family. She lived in New York City for a time before moving to Tampa, Florida. In wrestling *'Finishing moves' **''Divo Drop'' (Spinebuster) **''Billion Dollar Kick'' (Roundhouse Kick) ** Spinning Headlock Elbow Drop *'Nicknames' **"The Billion Dollar Baby" **"The Lithuanian Witch" **"The Sultry Temptrist" **'"The Leather-clad Lithuanian"' **'"The Flirty Competitor"' *'Managers' **Maxine **Goldust ** Alicia Fox *'Wrestlers managed' **Johnny Curtis **Eli Cottonwood **Maxine **Goldust **Damien Sandow **Lucky Cannon **Antonio Cesaro ** Alicia Fox *'Tag teams and stables' **Foxsana (w/ Alicia Fox) *'Entrance themes' **"A Little Sax In The Night" by Nigel Hitchcock (August 5, 2011 – October 26, 2012) **"Fantasy" by Jim Johnston (November 5, 2012 – June 12, 2014) **"Can't Stop" by Hollywood Music (FCW) Championships and accomplishments *'Florida Championship Wrestling' *Queen of FCW (1 time, Current) *FCW Divas Championship (1 time) External links * *Zivile Raudoniene Profile on CAGEMATCH. *Zivile Raudoniene Profile on Online World of Wrestling * Profile Category:Female wrestlers Category:Florida Championship Wrestling alumni Category:WWE NXT alumni Category:1982 births Category:2009 debuts Category:Lithuanian wrestlers Category:Queens of FCW Category:FCW Divas Champions Category:NXT season 3 Category:Bodybuilders Category:Models Category:Managers and valets Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni Category:Living people